{"id":894559,"date":"2026-03-26T05:27:15","date_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:27:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/hidden-dangers-loom-behind-chinas-wildlife-feeding-craze\/"},"modified":"2026-03-26T05:27:15","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T10:27:15","slug":"hidden-dangers-loom-behind-chinas-wildlife-feeding-craze","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/26\/hidden-dangers-loom-behind-chinas-wildlife-feeding-craze\/","title":{"rendered":"Hidden Dangers Loom Behind China\u2019s Wildlife Feeding Craze"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

On the side of a highway in the Hoh Xil National Nature Reserve in the northwestern Qinghai province, a young girl breaks a pork sausage into small pieces and tosses them to a wild wolf standing a few feet away. She then turns to the camera and smiles. The video recently went viral on Chinese social media, sparking a debate over feeding wildlife.<\/p>\n

Two years ago, in the same reserve, a \u201ccelebrity wolf<\/a>\u201d that would beg for food by the roadside was struck and killed by a truck. Yet the practice persists. On Feb. 10, the Qinghai Provincial Forestry and Grassland Bureau warned that disturbing, driving away or feeding wild animals can interfere with their normal breeding and living habits, trigger stress reactions and pose risks to people.<\/p>\n

How did sporadic expressions of \u201clove\u201d evolve into a management crisis? What impact does feeding have on individual animals, populations and ecosystems? And who bears responsibility when accidents happen?<\/p>\n

Fatal attraction<\/strong><\/p>\n

As early as 2023, a wild wolf along a national highway in Hoh Xil became overweight due to human feeding. It began presenting dog-like behavior, wagging its tail and begging. This has become a common sight in the region, as more wolves grow accustomed to human proximity and food. The consequences have been fatal.<\/p>\n

Wolves are not the only species finding internet fame through human handouts. At Mount Sapu in southwestern China\u2019s Xizang Autonomous Region, tourists bring biscuits and bread to feed \u201ccelebrity\u201d local brown bears, filming the animals at close range. In Qinghai, Xizang, and the northwestern Gansu province, feeding marmots with snacks such as rice crackers has become a must-do activity for travelers.<\/p>\n

Some localities promote feeding as a tourism draw.<\/p>\n

In Xichuan county, in the central Henan province, the Danjiangkou Reservoir attracts migratory birds such as black-headed gulls. The local government\u2019s official WeChat account posted in January that large numbers of gulls had gathered at Songgang Wharf and the Southern Water Town, far exceeding numbers seen in 2024. The account described the surge as \u201ca significant reflection of ecological protection.\u201d<\/p>\n

Behind the increase is direct artificial feeding. Viral videos show staff tossing buckets of food into the water, while tourists hold up bread. These draw more tourists, whose presence, in turn, draws more birds. According to the local government\u2019s WeChat account, these specific areas did not use to see such large numbers of gulls but daily feeding by staff and tourists created a \u201cclustering effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the surface, humans and animals seem close and harmonious. But in reality, the problems behind this are massive,\u201d said Zhou Haixiang, a member of the Chinese National Committee for UNESCO\u2019S Man and the Biosphere Programme.<\/p>\n

Peng Kui, a program director at The Nature Conservancy in China, said that a decade ago people reacted to bears, wolves, and snow leopards with awe and instinctive avoidance. Today, many approach them to offer food.<\/p>\n

Peng attributed the shift to a cognitive misalignment. Technological advances \u2014 sturdy off-road vehicles and advanced outdoor gear \u2014 give people what he called a \u201cforce illusion\u201d that they can control the situation, emboldening them to approach or provoke wildlife. Meanwhile, the prevalence of urban pet culture and unregulated petting zoos, combined with social-media content that anthropomorphizes wild animals, is eroding the public\u2019s basic understanding of wildness.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can easily find videos of monkeys or even predators dressed in human clothes, looking like pets,\u201d said Yin Hang, head of the Qinghai Snowland Great Rivers Environmental Protection Association. \u201cPeople then approach wolves and bears with the same mindset they would a stray cat.\u201d<\/p>\n

The price of a meal<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yin\u2019s organization focuses on the coexistence of humans and Tibetan brown bears. She said that while many tourists believe they are helping animals find food, the idea is a dangerous misconception.<\/p>\n

In the wild, Tibetan brown bears eat mainly marmots and pikas.<\/p>\n

\u201cHuman food is often a disaster for wild animals,\u201d Yin said. \u201cIn the wild, bears never eat bananas, instant noodles or spicy hot pot. These processed foods \u2014 high in salt, oil and complex ingredients \u2014 damage their digestive systems and health.\u201d<\/p>\n

Human food can cause obesity, cardiovascular problems, skeletal deformation, hair loss, and organ failure. If bears become accustomed to human food sources, they may ingest harmful substances. Research shows that bears scavenging<\/a> in garbage dumps can die after ingesting items such as automotive antifreeze.<\/p>\n

Beyond individual health, feeding can alter survival strategies, pushing animals from \u201cwild\u201d to \u201csemi-captive.\u201d Yin said adaptable species such as wolves and bears can quickly develop dependency. Once they form a memory of easy food, they may stop foraging elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn nature, a mother bear teaches her cubs to hunt,\u201d Yin said. \u201cBut if the mother relies on handouts or garbage, she teaches her cubs to approach humans. The behavior pattern of the entire family changes.\u201d<\/p>\n

That shift has contributed to frequent cases of bears preying on livestock, breaking into homes and occasionally attacking humans on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.<\/p>\n

\u201cArbitrary feeding is irresponsible,\u201d Peng said. \u201cIt satisfies the feeder\u2019s desire for novelty or showing off, but it leaves the risk to nature and to others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fragile prosperity<\/strong><\/p>\n

Compared with fierce mammals, birds seem safer. Feeding them is common in parks and wetlands and is sometimes organized by local managers.<\/p>\n

Every winter, swans migrate to the Swan Lake Urban Wetland Park in Sanmenxia, in the central Henan province. In the 1990s, only a few dozen arrived. To keep them there and attract tourists, locals fed them corn. The migratory population swelled to more than 10,000.<\/p>\n

But negative effects are emerging. Swans naturally eat aquatic plants and algae. \u201cUnder long-term human feeding, they have become accustomed to eating corn,\u201d Zhou said. \u201cDuring migration, they forage in cornfields, where they may face poisoning.\u201d In 2016, 233 swans died in the northern Inner Mongolia after ingesting corn laced with poisonous substances.<\/p>\n

Artificially abundant food can also cause population booms the ecosystem cannot sustain. \u201cOnce the feeding stops, the system collapses,\u201d Zhou said. \u201cThat is a disaster for the species and the surrounding communities.\u201d<\/p>\n

A similar situation exists with black-headed gulls in Kunming, the provincial capital of the southwestern Yunnan province. Since they first arrived in 1985, residents have fed them to keep them in the city. Today, feeding gulls at Dianchi Lake is a standard tourist activity.<\/p>\n

Wu Zhaolu, a professor at Yunnan University, calculated that Dianchi Lake can naturally support 100,000 wintering gulls. \u201cCurrently, there are 40,000,\u201d Wu said. \u201cThe lake has enough fish and shrimp. Without human feeding, they would hunt for themselves and winter safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

But decades of handouts have made the gulls \u201clazy,\u201d Wu said, with fewer gulls hunting for natural food. The bread and biscuits they consume are heavy in carbohydrates but lack the protein needed for migration and reproduction.<\/p>\n

Wu\u2019s team has found that Kunming\u2019s gulls are becoming obese and showing gastrointestinal changes. Nearly 1,000 gulls now fail to migrate north due to obesity and dependency, remaining in Kunming year-round. Because they do not breed in Kunming \u2014 their breeding grounds are thousands of miles away in Siberia \u2014 those birds have effectively exited the gene pool.<\/p>\n

Drawing boundaries<\/strong><\/p>\n

The prevalence of feeding reflects a human desire to connect with nature. The problem is in how humans interact with animals, Peng said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe core principle should be \u2018do not disturb, keep distance\u2019 \u2014 protecting both animals and tourists,\u201d he said. He advocates responsible ecotourism that replaces feeding with observation.<\/p>\n

In Baihualing, Yunnan, a different model has emerged. Once a poaching hotspot, villagers now maintain \u201cbird ponds\u201d with small amounts of unprocessed food and hidden blinds, allowing tourists to photograph birds without disturbing them.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more birds there are, the more money villagers make. The more they benefit, the stronger the motivation is to protect the birds,\u201d Zhou said.<\/p>\n

Wu recommended a similar approach for Kunming\u2019s gulls: keep a distance and upgrade the experience from feeding for fun to ecological observation.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should respect the birds\u2019 habits,\u201d Wu said. \u201cWatching a gull dive for shrimp is beautiful. That is what we should advocate, not inducing it to eat bread from your mouth for a photo.\u201d<\/p>\n

The shift requires coordination. Governments must clarify rules and tour operators must promote responsible tourism.<\/p>\n

But ultimately, there needs to be a change in public mindset. \u201cThe best relationship between us is to keep our distance,\u201d Yin said. \u201cTake photos and create memories and leave behind undisturbed nature. That is true respect and love.\u201d<\/p>\n

This piece was originally published by Caixin Global<\/a>. It is republished here with permission.<\/em><\/p>\n

Reporters: Kang Jia and Lu Zhenhua.<\/em><\/p>\n

(Header image: Wolves wait for tourists to feed them on the road in Hoh Xil, Qinghai province, Feb. 20, 2024. Jiang Feibo\/VCG)<\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Raleigh Catt
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